Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: The Orissa Director General of Police (DG) today said the security forces have recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition looted from the Nanagarh district armoury and Police training school during the ongoing combing operations.

DG Gopal Nanda told media here today that they have recovered 115 number 3.3 rifles, one carbine and half a truck load of ammunition which were looted from the Nayagarh district armoury and police traning school armoury. He confirmed that the causalty on the naxaite side was more than 20, but failed to give an exact number. "We are not searching for the bodies. We are concentrating on the combing operations," he said.

He added that the villagers were telling them about the bodies from time to time.

Orissa today stepped up one of its biggest combing operations in the history of encounter against hundreds of armed naxalites following the Nayagarh mayhem in which 17 police personnel and a civilian was decimated.

The operation was triggered after information that the naxalites had moved to the borders of Ganjam and Kandhmal district and were hiding in the hill top in their bid to escape to the neighbouring state.

The DG had come to the state assembly to inform Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik about the developments.

UNI